


Building a Path

by seward907



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:07:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24464683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seward907/pseuds/seward907
Summary: When Katara is given the chance to contribute to the war, she takes it. Her brother and her are supposed to help the Avatar by concealing him in Omashu while learning how to fight in the war, but things don't always go the way they're planned, especially after she meets the boy with the scar.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Kudos: 5





	Building a Path

“No! There is absolutely no way that I’m letting you ‘help’ with dinner again.” Katara admonished her brother, waving a wooden spoon at him. “Last time, you ate all of it before I could set it on the table!”   
Before Sokka could defend himself, she spun on her heels and marched out of their little hut back to the fire pit to monitor the measly fish her brother caught earlier on the fire. It wasn’t exactly like the grand feasts that they used to have before her father and the men left, but at least it wasn’t sea prunes again. No matter how much she loved them, there were only so many times you could eat sea prunes consecutively (6 meals, she counted!) before you got a little tired of them.  
She sighed as she rotated them again then sat down on the lump of snow she managed to bend for herself. Resting her head on her gloved hands, she watched the village people walk by. Their steps were light, more spirited than they had been in a long time. The children were skipping around and giggling with joy and excitement. In fact, the whole village had been in a brighter mood recently, which was a change to the same old routine they managed to create for themselves since her father and the men left. It seemed appropriate that they get it back the day they’re supposed to return home.   
Katara’s gaze turned to the warm flames of the fire as she reflected on the past five years. When her dad left to fight the war against the Fire Nation along with the men of the village, Katara was left with her brother (and Gran Gran of course). But it was only two days after her mother died, and it was an incredibly dramatic change to the village’s way of life. But life changing events usually happen when there’s a war, Katara supposed. She just wished her father handled things a little differently. She was only 12 at the time. And a lot had changed.   
She’d changed.   
She knew she would always be the girl who was left in the snow. She will never forget the way she held onto Sokka with all she had, standing under her brother’s arm as he gripped their family’s only lantern burning precious oil to watch their father’s ship disappear into the mist. She was motherless. And when that ship left, she was fatherless too.   
She was still that girl, but she’d grown up too. She had too.   
“Is it done yet?” Sokka called as he exited the hut. Katara rolled her eyes. Becoming the main cook of the family was a part of that growing up. She could have done without the nagging from her brother though.   
“Lucky for you, it is. Now sit down and be patient,” She replied, sliding the cooked meat off the stick and onto the serving plate. She seasoned it and cut it up into smaller pieces—just like her mother used to prepare it.   
It was a meager meal, but later tonight they will feast, just like they used to on the Winter Solstice Festival. Well, not exactly since they didn’t have the big game hunters anymore, but they were going to make do with what they had. Katara used to love that festival. Even though she heard stories about how it used to be bigger, with more food and more people, she still loved how the whole tribe would gather to worship the Ocean and the Moon. She remembered how her mom used to braid her hair and how Dad would look at the them both and tell them how beautiful he thought they were and how lucky he was. She remembered the smile on Sokka’s face during the last festival they celebrated when he turned 13 and was awarded the Mark of the Wise when he went ice dodging with their dad. They had been so happy back then.  
Tonight, the tribe would gather again because tonight, the men were coming home. Her dad was coming home. And the worst part was, Katara didn’t know quite how to feel about it.  
She missed her dad—she really did. But after he left, she just felt… abandoned. Just days after her mom died, her father left. She still had Sokka, and she will always be so grateful for that, but he wasn’t a parent and there was only so much Gran Gran could do for them. Katara had to step up. And it wasn’t that she didn’t like caring for their little family—she did. But she shouldn’t have been doing it without both of her parents.   
Sokka finished his fish with a satisfied gulp and stood up after placing his plate on the ground, stirring Katara from her thoughts. He grabbed his boomerang from its place on the table where he had been sharpening it earlier. “I’m going to go inspect the watch tower,” he announced, sliding the boomerang into place across his back where he could easily grab it. “Dad’s going to be so impressed, don’t you think?” He asked already walking away.   
“Yes, of course he will,” she replied while shaking her head, but Sokka was too far away to detect her placating tone. She did have to admit that the watch tower had come a long way from the measly pile of snow it used to be.   
After she finished, she cleaned their plates and set about making sure the hut was tidy for the fourth time that day. Gran Gran was currently with the other elders preparing for the men’s return. Katara smiled fondly at the thought of the family she did have here. She knew how much he wanted their dad to be proud of him. He had been so heartbroken that their father had left him behind. He told her that he really didn’t mind because Dad had put him in charge of protecting the village which was an important job, but she knew him better than she knew herself. That’s why she also knew that when they left again, that Sokka would want to leave with them.   
And Katara had every intention of going as well.   
It was part of the reason that with every passing minute she was getting more and more nervous. She just knew that her dad wasn’t going to like that idea. She hadn’t even mentioned it to Sokka yet. But she was so tired of sitting at home. She was 17 and she could barely waterbend. While she could teach herself a few moves, they were sloppy at best and probably weren’t even official waterbending moves. There was only so much that she could teach herself with no master. But learning waterbending was only a part of the reason. This war… it had taken too much from her and it was time she did something about it.   
With a wave of her hand, she melted the frost that had gathered around the animal skins on the floor; she needed to control herself if she was going to prove herself capable of taking on this journey.   
Just as she was about to place the cooking utensils back into the trunk, Sokka burst back into the tent, out of breath. Katara met his eyes as a grin burst across his face.  
“Dad.” He started, still panting. “Ships…” breath. “Sighted!” a couple more breaths. “Just a few minutes away!”  
She dropped everything in the trunk, closed it and allowed herself to be pushed and dragged by Sokka out of their tent into the cool spring air. Soon the shock of his announcement passed and Sokka’s enthusiasm caught on. Katara soon had a grin of her own to match Sokka’s.   
The two of them found themselves just two among many of the members of the village, all making their way down to the shore and the docks. Soon Katara and Sokka were standing at the shore, just a few feet from where the sea met land—almost the same exact spot they stood when they saw their Dad for the last time five years ago.   
The ships were almost close enough to dock now. Katara could now distinguish the faces aboard the ships as they collapsed the sails and began preparing to jump onto the docks. She grasped her brother’s hand tightly, and he had the decency not to yelp but only wince at the pain. He gave her hand a short squeeze back.   
She took a peak at the families around her, at the young children who’s smiles took up their entire faces and the even younger ones who could barely walk. It was a bitter reminder to her that some of the children hadn't even met their fathers yet. But she pushed these thoughts away. Today was supposed to be a happy day.  
There. Katara spotted her father’s ship The Tempest among the others. The sight of the Southern water tribe vessels made her heart swell; she hadn't seen those blue sails for a long time. The children of the village began to cheer and the elders began waving at the men as they got close enough to hear. Katara’s nerves spiked and she leaned into Sokka’s side for fear that her knees would stop working.   
It seemed that even the universe knew the significance of this day, for in the first time in ages the day was cloudless and the sun shone down on them, making the white snow give off a bright glare. She felt the warmth on her cheeks and the children began to tug their hands away from mother’s, wriggling around with barely contained excitement as they took off skipping and running to the ships to the fathers they barely remembered.  
"Well?" came Gran Gran’s voice from behind Sokka and Katara. They startled and looked back to meet her eyes. "What are you waiting for? Your father is home!" She shoved them off to meet the disembarking sailors who were already on their way over, just couple hundred yards away now. Katara's eyes met Sokka's and he shrugged his shoulders before waving for her to follow him on the trek to the shoreline. She followed his lead with the rest of the people running for the shore and soon the two forces of people—those who left and those left behind—crashed together and became one once again. Families were reunited and children cried out in pure joy of seeing their fathers and brothers home again. As husbands embraced wives, new promises were made of love that would last forever no matter how long the separation. There was new a feeling—or maybe an old feeling—of family and togetherness that made Katara believe that this was the way it should be always. If only it wasn’t for this damned war...  
Katara and Sokka still searched among the reunited tribal members searching for the face that mattered most.  
"Where is he?" Katara asked her brother. Her stomach began to twist in an unpleasant way, giving her a sense of dread. What if he was injured? What if he was somewhere else? What if he was… dead? He couldn't be dead, she decided. The spirits could not be that cruel to her.  
"Sokka? Katara?" A deep, hesitant voice called out just ahead of them. And just like that, the fears disappeared. With one look at the man Katara had missed for five years, all the animosity she had for him was temporarily relinquished as she grabbed Sokka's gloved hand and jerked him to the man who had called for them: Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe. Her Dad.  
When his searching eyes finally landed on his children, the man fell to his knees just in time to embrace the teenagers. They fell to the ground beside the many others embracing their loved ones. Amidst the laughter and tears they held one another closely. Katara inhaled the scent of her father and realized he still smelled the same as he did before, like old furs with a hint of the scent of sea prunes. It made her feel like a little girl again. Tears leak from her eyes and as her father pulled away, he took off his gloves and swiped her tears aside with his thumb. With his other hand, he ruffled his son’s hair messing up is wolf-tail. Of course, Sokka didn't mind.  
She wiped at her wet eyes again before giving her father another hug. "I missed you so much." She said with complete sincerity. She felt almost whole again. She hadn't felt quite like this since her mother died.  
"I missed you too sweetheart," he said against her hair. She pulled away, keeping her hand on his shoulder as he embraced Sokka again. Not to her surprise, Katara caught sight of a tear sliding down her brother's face. "I took care of her, just like you said." Sokka told him. Katara rolled her eyes, but let her brother have his moment. It was more like the other way around, she thought fondly.  
Hakoda finally separated himself from their embrace looked at his children before him. "You've both grown so much, into wonderful young adults," he said. "My beautiful daughter," he said, brushing his hand over Katara's face. She caught it and held it against her cheek, not wanting to let go. "And my strong warrior," he said, patting his son's shoulder. This brought smiles to both their faces.  
"Your children missed you," Kanna said from behind them. They turned to look at the tough old woman standing before them. She had her arms at her sides, her wrinkled face stern and seemingly expressionless. However, she only maintained the bravado for a moment before finishing with, "and so did your mother. Come here son.” She allowed a smile to cross her features while Hakoda stood and embraced her.  
He chuckled and looked at his family, as well as the many others around them. All the families were huddled together, smiling and hugging each other, reveling in one other's presence. He cleared his voice before speaking over the noise in a joyful tone. "Well men, let us be with our families. We will reconvene tonight."   
The village erupted in cheers and shouts and everyone took off in the direction in the village. Fathers scooped up their children and threw their arms around their wives and mothers. The chief himself swung his arms proudly around his children as they took off in the direction of the village.  
"It's good to be home." He said wistfully, looking to where the village was.  
"We're glad you're home." Katara said truthfully. With her arms around her father, she felt like everything was finally going to be okay. The war faded away into the background and all that mattered was the person who had his arm around her. All the scolding she had built up could wait until later.  
But then the Tribal chief halted his steps and turned around. "Oh, I almost forgot," he said. He removed himself from his children's grasps and walked back to where a lone boy stood. During her reunion, she had neglected to notice this new comer before. As Katara looked at him he seemed maybe a couple years younger than herself. He had a traditional water Tribe parka on that looked just a little too big for him. He had scruffy, curiously short dark brown hair and around his head was a white strip of cloth, usually used for keeping their under tunics together. His skin was paler than most, but he had on a sheepish smile that suggested nothing sinister.  
Katara looked at him in confusion. She'd never seen him before. Who was this kid, and what was he doing here?  
Hakoda put his hand on the boy's shoulder in a familiar way and said, "This is Aang. He came to us in the strangest of ways and he's been a part of the crew for a couple of months now. He'll be staying with us for the duration of our time spent here."  
Aang smiled and held out his gloved hand to the siblings. "It's an honor to meet you. Chief Hakoda has told me a lot about you." Sokka stole a glance to his sister before grasping the stranger's wrist in a 'manly' manner and solidly shook it once. Katara smiled at him while she shook his hand to mask her apprehensiveness.  
“Hello Aang, welcome to the Southern Water Tribe.” Sokka told the boy. “I was the one in charge here while my dad here was off fighting the war, so if you have any questions, just ask me. I’m the expert on all things Water tribe!”  
“Thanks,” Aang replied, “that means a lot! And I’m sure I’ll have plenty of questions later!” Katara raised an eyebrow at his enthusiasm, and gave a sideways look at Sokka who looked like he was about to eat his own words.   
"I'm Katara, and this is my know-it-all brother, Sokka," she told him. In reply Aang waved his hand again in greeting but looked up to Hakoda on how to proceed.  
Hakoda nodded and then once again grabbed the sibling's shoulders to proceed to the village. Katara faintly heard Aang strike up a friendly conversation about penguins and penguin sledding (seriously, who is this kid?) with her Gran Gran behind them.  
"Who is he?" Sokka asked, speaking Katara’s mind.  
Hakoda lowered his tone and said, "I'll tell you in good time. For now, we celebrate."  
Katara recognized his tone and realized this was all she was going to get, so she changed the subject. "We're all planning to watch the lights tonight. On the same hill we always watch them from." She smiled as she looked up into her father's eyes.  
He smiled back. "That sounds like a great idea." His narrowed eyes relaxed and radiated happiness, just to be back where he belonged. Katara shook aside the feeling that there was an intruder among them and decided to enjoy the moment and just be with her dad. Because later, she was going to inform him that he wasn’t leaving again—not without her at least

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my story! Been sitting on this one a while, thanks for reading! Totally welcome to all comments and constructive criticism. Hope you enjoy :)


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